14.4.08

Carrie + The Oslo Deadtrash Project, The City EP

There are only really two things to say. Firstly, this is a lovely recording. You’ll want the City EP in your life. Secondly, it’s free. Gratis. All it takes is a flicker of that index finger of yours. But wait. Don’t leave. Not just yet, anyway. Stick around.

Who wants free music anyway? (Apart from Radiohead fans.) It must be of poor quality after all. Except of course that this EP is something of a marvel. But don’t decide for yourself. I haven’t told you why yet.n What do we even know of these collaborators? The Oslo Deadtrash Project is Pierre Lejeune and Pierre is one talented bunny. Already a reputable act in Belgium. I guess we could call this electronica, but knowing how twitchy certain folk become when labeled in this way, especially when, like Lejeune, they play guitar – maybe we ought to tread carefully. Carrie is less well known to me. Based in Mexico, Carrie is ostensibly Laura B and she sings like an angel. She’s an established artist in her own right whose own compositions also harbour downtempo tendencies.

So we have one eccentric, loner Belgian who likes messing around with old organ sounds and we have one sexy Mexican princesa. But how did this collaboration come to be? We could speculate that Pierre and Laura met at a festival in Montréal - that their Moogs locked eyes across a crowded tent and that, as they say, was that. This would be pure speculation and frankly ridiculous. When the two duet on "Yellow Building" the effect is frankly sublime. I have always loved Lejeune's far-away, lost boy voice. Laura B’s pipes are all honey-coated sensuality. I want to marry her but clearly she’s already fallen under the spell of TODP.

"Yellow Building" is the centerpiece of this EP. The other three tracks are instrumental save for some vocal sampling on the cinematic "Solar 2". This piece, incidentally, would make for ideal soundtrack material. I’m thinking Amine. "Solar 2" would grace something akin to Spirited Away or Paprika. "The Super Groove Smokey Song" and "Solar 1" are more ambient in texture. More about creating a mood. Normally in the world of TODP the mood is distinctly melancholic. Nobody else in electronica or downtempo sounds like Lejeune. His stuff is light years away from that chilled, ice DJ shtick. It’s comforting. Together with Carrie, he has created a warm intimacy for cosy daydreamers and lovelorn loners everywhere.

On no account though should you snag this for free. I mean, something as wonderful as this – you’ll just have to take my word for it.

All songs written and produced by Laura B. and Pierre Lejeune. Montréal, 2007. Mastered by Luis Ramírez at CZG International Productions. Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License. The Poni Republic, 2008.